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droid-smart. droid-powerful. right now on "andrea mitchell reports" the deliberations begin. after a morning mass at st. peter's basilica -- [ chanting ] -- the cardinals then proceeded solemnly to the sistine chapel where under a vow of secrecy, the doors shut and they began the conclave to elect the next pope. it's now under way. dueling budgets in washington, the president heads to capitol hill to show senate democrats some love while paul ryan rolls out a budget that calls for repealing obama care. >> this is not only a responsible, reasonable balanced plan, it's also an invitation, it's an invitation to the

president of the united states, to senate democrats, to come together to fix these problems. and could the next pope come from the one continent where the church is expanding? we'll take you to the small village in ghana, getting a lot of attention lately. >> good day, i'm yaund mitchell live in washington, the quest for a new pope is officially under way. for now i'm told there's a decision. >> the spotlight will be on the smokestack, 115 voting cardinals are inside the sistine chapel. >> joining me from the vatican, msnbc's chris jansing and fare john bartunik. chris, let's talk about what we're watching for, not just the white spoke. but what we're expecting, because we don't expect a rapid decision certainly. but they are in deliberations and could presumably have their

first vote. >> probably breathing a sigh much relief. because the waiting period got to be a bit much for some of them. we heard cardinal dolan talking about now he's ready to get in there and start getting the voting under way. there's a little procedural stuff that has to go on, but they could start voting very quickly and we could start seeing the smoke within an hour. it's such an interesting process, they're going to select randomly three people they call them scrutiners, each of the cardinals will try disguise his handwriting when they vote for who they want to they fold the paper lengthwise and bring them up to the altar. the two scrutiners look at the ballots and the third one announces them and they have the count and the smokestack. there's a big crowd out in st. peter's square. even though the betting money is that there will not be a new

pope here today. and it's pretty miserable out. they've had some nice weather in rome, but it's cold and rainy. but people feel like they're going to be part of history here. and it will happen. the question of course is when. >> father bartunik. there's a sizing up process. they'll start seeing where the power, where the most powerful alliances are and it's been described perhaps by you as almost a primary process at first going into the more serious deliberations in the coming days. is that the way you would characterize it? >> well ha happens is after the first vote, you kind of get for finally after talking amongst each other, getting to know each other for the last week even better than they have before, final you get actual votes, actual cardinals who may receive more or less votes, so things become real. if certain cardinals have in the very first ballot if they receive a lot of votes, then those who received for other

cardinals will start thinking, maybe this will be the right one. you get individual cardinals going up and down as the process happens. the interesting thing about in the actual chapel, the sistine chapel where they vote, there's no talking, they don't discuss, it's very prayerful. each cardinal after he writes down the name that he's voting for, walks up to the altar, places his ballot inside a chalice and then, as he says a vow that he's voting for the one he really believes god wants to be pope. it's a quiet process. but then after the voting, when they go back to their guest house during the meals, they can talk amongst each other, to talk about thousand things are going. and discuss where the trends are and who might be voting for who. >> let's take a look at a map of where the cardinal electors come from. you've got cardinals from 48 different countries, italy has the most, 28 cardinals from italy. 24% of the world's catholics are european. but more than half of the voting cardinals are european.

so who dominates in a situation like this, father john? is there a reform movement versus those who wand the power of the curae to remain without all the allegations of the vatican bank and the corruption in the vatican and the need for a better manager? is that the bloc or is it geographic? is it generational? how do you see these power blocs? >> that's a great question. there are groups of cardinals who are know each other very well, geographically, that's probably the most obvious bloc, from different continents. the interesting thing is that all of these cardinals who are voting now, were named by either john paul ii or benedict xvi now john paul ii and benedict xvi worked closely together, there was a lot of continuity among their papacies. so i don't think there's ideological or theological camps going against each other or playing against each other. i believe that the cardinals will, they recognize that there

are some managerial talents they want in a pope. they also want someone who can preach the gospel in an attractive way, relevant way. and they want someone they can trust in as a spiritual leader. someone who has a deep spiritual life themselves. so there aren't really strong divisions in the camps or cardinals. and that's one of the reasons that many think this conclave will take a little while. there isn't a clear division among the different groups of cardinals. >>ing with all the talk about the possibility of americans for the first time, it was completely discounted a couple of weeks ago when you were first covering there, is that buzz in the media? and in particular, the very experienced vatican media? or is this something that can actually be attributed to real sources inside? >> yes, the very influential western media much of it based in new york, who would love to see cardinal dolan be elected. although i will say this, andrea. when they were actually taking their oath and people were hearing it and watching it, out

on st. peter's, the only one who got a cheer was cardinal dolan. having said that, i think you know, just talking to people around the vatican, the sense of it is, that it's probably going the chance of an american pope, from a very long shot to a long shot. nobody is trying to say that cardinal o'malley from boston or cardinal dolan are front-runners. having said that, i think some weeks ago, right when pope benedict decided to step down. it would have been almost totally discounted. and so there has been a little bit of a change, and if there is sort of one feeling, it's that if this happens quickly, it will be someone who is more expected. for example, the archbishop of milan, cardinal scola. if it goes on a while and they can't seem to coalesce around one or two candidates early on, it does open up the possibility of a north american pope. possibly a latin american or an african pope. so we'll have to see the way it plays out. i think the length of the conclave could start to give us some indication of how things

are going. >> chris jansing and father john. thank you very much. i know you're going to be there throughout the hour, throughout the day until we see some smoke and until they complete their deliberations today, we'll get back to you the moment anything happens, thank you both. meanwhile, here in washington on capitol hill today, conflicting fiscal visions. paul ryan unveiled his republican budget. now president obama is about to head to the hill to encourage senate democrats to offer their alternative later this week. joining me now for our daily fix, "washington post" editorial columnist ruth marquez and washington correspondent, kelly o'donnell. paul ryan's budget was similar to his previous budget, which has already been rejected by the white house. and by democrats and it calls fundamentally for repealing obama care which is from all accounts, a nonstarter. so is this a political document

or a budget document? >> it starts off as a political document, andrea and no surprise, paul ryan and his team went to the most sort of ideological positions that they have. they believe in those positions. and it's sort of their starting point. not wanting to give too much up before any kind of a longer, broader plan could take place in terms of trying to get something that could actually pass with democratic support. so you do have him going back to a familiar sort of well. he was asked about that whole issue of isn't it now presumed that the president's health care law is here to stay. and he said it would be wrong to presume that. because it is in his words, a train wreck for the budget. so you have some resistance among republicans and support from people like marco rubio on the senate side, saying they should not presume that the president's health care law as it's written, as it goes into implementation primarily next year, is going to stay as planned. because of its implications on budget. democrats see that very differently, they believe the

country voted and stood for the president's health care law. so it is not a surprising document, but it didn't move the ball forward as some people might have expected. ryan's big goal he said was to try to get a budget balanced in ten years, so 2023 is the number on his mind. trying to get the long-term situation resolved. it hits some of those red-hot issues, with changes it how medicare would work. it does not include new taxes, and that's something democrats expect to see. >> and patty murray will present the democratic alternative from the senate and the senate has not had a budget in four years, this is long awaited. it's been a great source of republican criticism. is the president, he's going up to see the democrats today, he'll be seeing the republicans, paul ryan mentioned that their conversation at lunch was the first real conversation they had had except for the house caucus in 2009 when they exchanged just a few words. is this a new obama or is in a

strategy bred from their failure to win the high road on the sequester debate and realizing they have to show engagement? >> will i'm all for engagement, i think more engagement is better than less engagement. you can asked, i have asked why we didn't see this engagement before the sequester hit. the white house has answers to that, none of which are particularly convincing to me. i would go back and say that all budgets are political documents, they are, the line item versions of how, what your vision of government is. i don't fault paul ryan for repeating his vision of government. i think the most interesting thing about the latest ryan budget which balances in ten years is that he should thank democrats for forcing them to agree to new tax revenue. because that's the way plus revenue from obama care and savings, that they criticized. for medicare, that they get to balance. because they're working from an easier baseline.

in other words, more revenue, lower spending, so it's easier for them to get to balance thanks to some of the things they criticized. it's going to be interesting to see both the way the senate does it and where and when the president's budget turns up in all this. >> before i lose the two of you, kelly, briefly and ruth, let's talk about the whole issue of the air force general, overruling a jury on a rape conviction. without any reason given and now this has caused a firestorm on the hill. claire mccaskill going to hold hearings. she's been meeting at the pentagon. there's legislation. kelly, is this going to lead to real change. we'll be talking to jean shaheen about this tomorrow. >> i've been talking to senator kirsten gillen brand about this.

they have a hearing set for tomorrow. there's outrage at how the military has handled this. they believe it is harmful it attracting women to the services, they believe that women who go in good faith to serve their country are subjected to dangers, when they report those cases, are further victimized, in the descriptions of people i've been talking to. so there is real concern that something needs to be done about this. there's a fire in the belly moment here for some of especially the women legislators who want to see some change. >> and you're an attorney, the fact that an air force general could overrule a jury's verdict, hard enough to get a verdict. you know, in a rape case and all-male jury, is the case. >> a unanimous. >> a unanimous all-male jury finds this person guilty and now the service member is supposed to go back in the unit? how is that even conceivable? >> something tells me that there must be some reason there. because in this environment of

heightened sensitivity we hope, to the issue of sexual assault in the military, when there's been so much scrutiny of the problem of reporting up through the chain of command for this general to just move in and overturn, maybe he has a really good reason, i'm really looking forward to hearing it. >> secretary hagel is as well. he's now said he's going to investigate. ruth marquez -- >> totally appropriate. >> and of course, kelly o'donnell, thank you very much from the hill. and up next, courting congress, what is president obama's strategy this week? and still ahead, israel's ambassador talks to us about president obama's trip to the middle east. his first to israel since being elected. plus, we're watching the vatican of course, as the cardinals begin to vote for the next pope. [ kate ] many women may not be absorbing the calcium they take

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the election didn't go our way, believe me, i know what feels like. that means we surrender our principles, that means we stop believing in what we believe in. look, whether the country intended it or not, we have divided government. >> paul ryan this morning, sticking to house republican principles, he says as he protected his budget. joining me is ed rendell, nbc news political analyst and msnbc analyst, michael steele, former chair of the republican national committee. welcome both. where are we today with the president going to the hill, first to see the senate democrats and then talk to republicans later in the week and he has not talked to republicans until now. is this a strategy borne out of desperati desperation? or optics or does he want a grand bargain and is this one to

be had? >> i think the president does want a grand bargain and i think he does come to the view that michael and i have been talking about, that you've got to engage republicans. i will say i was disappointed in paul ryan's budget, no the because of medicare and medicaid, that was to be expected. but denying the viability of the president's health care plan. saying that has to be repealed. that's not a way to begin the conversation. after this great lunch they had, to come out and it's unrealistic. look. number one the president is president until 2016. number two, if the republicans swept everything in 2016, the filibuster rule would have allowed democrats in the senate to stop the repeal of the health care plan. it's here, let's try to make the best of it. don't come out with a document like that. that's like throwing oil on the water. >> in fact you've got republican governors, rick scott and other who is are now embracing aspects of the president's obama care.

who said that they wouldn't. so if they're willing to accept the reality of it -- what, what is the advantage? or is this just the opening bid? >> you used the right word. the political reality is coming in and setting in for folks. he think the governor is right in terms of this being a leading play for the republicans after this reapproachment between the senate and the house leadership in particular. i think this is not a good way to start that conversation because the reality of it is, as many republicans acknowledged through election night and since, obama care is here. now is the opportunity for i think the republican leadership to manage the implementation, to manage the effect. to put in place the best cost control principles as possible, that's consistent with our views. on free market. health care system. that's the opportunity. i think the president would respond to that. because the president knows that every aspect of this plan is not perfect. that there's going to take a lot

of tweaking to get it serviceable for the american people. i think that's the good opportunity there. the pictures aside, the relationship between the white house and the republicans is changing. and we'll see how it goes. but i think this is a good overture in the beginning, the health care notwithstanding. >> you have to have a baseline in order to have a conversation. you have to be working off the say playbook. if paul ryan and the house republicans say that obama care actually increases the deficit, and the white house and democrats say no it doesn't, it reduces the deficit -- you're dealing with two different realities, how do you -- >> we've got to get our facts straight in most cases, we turn to the cbo for facts, there's a small reduction in the deficit according to the cbo in the first ten years. but a very significant reduction in the second ten years, now again, i agree with michael. it does need to be more than tweaked it needs to have a lot of changes to it. and if the president is smart, he will listen to some of the

republican ideas because some of those ideas were good. and we democratic governors embrace some of those. this all is tied up on resolving the debt question. if we can reach a grand bargain on the debt question, if we can compromise and put aside our ideologies, we have chance to reform and get the country on the right track. >> because then you've established the basis for the revenue stream that you want to have come in. and the amount of spending you're going to do. so it makes it easy for you to prioritize on all of those other issues, whether it's infrastructure projects. whether it's you know cost benefit analysis on education back to the states. all of those things that get sidetracked or forgotten can now be prioritized, you know how much money you have and you know what your spending priorities are. >> keystone pipeline ha was part of the ryan budget. if we did a comprehensive energy bill, we do the keystone pipeline, but we make the

production tax credit permanent for wind and solar. trade off. and build something that's good and create american energy independence. the trouble with all of this, andrea is the possibilities are so great for the country. you want it to happen. and these -- >> particular with the dow at 14,000 and growing. wall street has baked a lot of this is in with the expectation that they reach the grand bargain. >> if they don't, they could go down as quickly as it went up. >> real fast. >> ed rendell and michael steele. >> top intelligence officials sound an alarm on iran. reaction next with israel's ambassador. and stay with us for live coverage from rome where the first round of voting for a new pope is under way. there's the smokestack, no smoke yet. [ male announcer ] marie callender's believes a little dessert

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a week before president obama's first visit to israel as president, u.s. intelligence officials warn congress today that sanctions have not done enough to deter iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon. >> clearly the sanctions have had profound impact on iran's economy. at the same time, at least publicly, overtly that has not prompted a change in the iranian leadership, specifically the supreme leader's approach? >> with general clapper went on to say, joining me now is israel's ambassador to the united states, michael orrin. welcome, gooed to see you. but what general clapper went on to say is they do not yet know what the supreme leader, who has sole control over this decision is going to do. that said, what does prime minister netanyahu want to hear from president obama next week in israel on the subject of iran. >> good afternoon.

president obama is coming to israel next week, his first trip abroad and his second term, we're delighted, excited that he's coming. it's going to be a very momentous trip in term of what the president is going to be doing in israel. he's going to be visiting sites that highlight our ancient past, the dead sea skrols, the jewish roots of the jewish stakes, he'll be going to our equivalent of the arlington national cemetery, laying a wreath there, he'll be talking to young people, talking about israeli innovation and talking about the common future, binding the united states and israel. we will be talking about the issues that are on the table for not just for israel but for many states in the region. including efforts to reanimate the peace process, to deal with the revolving and evolving situation in sirria and with iranian nuclear program. and what we want to hear again that the reiteration of america's commitment, that the president has said many times of his commitment to prevent iran

from acquiring nuclear weapons, we subscribe to that goal and we subscribe to the formula of combination of escalating sanctions with a credible military threat. that convinces that supreme leader that he's not paying a price for nothing at the end of the day, he's not going to have this device, at the end of the day there will be a credible military threat. >> joe biden told apec that the president of the united states does not bluff and there is a credible military threat. that said, the prime minister told the u.n. general assembly that spring is the red line. has the timeframe moved? is there more time? or are we, we're now a week away from spring. in fact the president will be in israel on the first day of spring. are we now in a danger zone as far as the prime minister is concerned? >> we say we're in a red zone. taking the old football equivalent of the last 20 yards before the goal line.

we're definitely within the red zone. and the door for diplomacy for sanctions is open, but it's not a big door and it won't be open indefinitely. and it's important i think that the united states understands this. secretary of state kerry said something very similar. and i think that we have a close and intimate dialogue with the united states about how to realize our common goal of preventing iran from acquiring those nuclear weapons. >> it's very clear that the administration wants to press hard, certainly secretary kerry does, but this coming from the white house as well. press hard on the israel/palestinian negotiations which have been dormant for years. the white house has been criticized, as was secretary clinton, frankly for not engaging enough. they didn't see very much traction there. is the prime minister open to a new approach? with the palestinians? i know you'll say, you need to have a peace partner and there's been criticism on all sides.

but is there time to reengage on that, which people in the region now really want to see? >> i think the criticism, actually frankly haven't heard about the president's inaction or secretary of state clinton's inaction to the peace process is not founded. they were quite active and at the end of the day, none of us succeeded in bringing t palestinians back to the negotiating table. they went unilaterally to the u.n. to achieve tefrt without peace. unilaterally recognized palestinian state and they embarked on a path of reconciliation with hamas recognized by the united states and the quartet as a terrorist organization, not helpful efforts on the part of the palestinian authority. yes, there is time. we are very interested in returning to negotiations. we'll say openly we're willing to negotiate today, not tomorrow, in washington, d.c., and ramallah in jerusalem.

in all the core issues, border security, recognition, jerusalem. >> settlements? >> all of those issues in order to reach a solution. >> is there give on the latest expansion and objections to the way the map is being redrawn? >> we don't think the map is being redrawn. i think that the majority of the, majority of the so-called expansion have been in areas which have been widely assumed will be part of israel in the context of any peace arrangement. we know that settlements aren't the great obstacle. in 2005, we ripped up 21 settlements from gaza to advance the peace process and we didn't get peace, we got rockets from hamas. settlements are a subcategory of borders and territory which is very much impacted by security arrangements, if there's greater security arrangements, we can show greater flexibility on borders. >> michael orrin. mr. ambassador, thank you so

much for previewing the trip and we'll see you in the holy land next week. >> thank you, see you there. and up next, what's old is new again. house democrats respond to the ryan budget. jts and we'll take you to the only part of the world where the catholic church is growing and growing exponentially. stay with us as we watch developments from rome. this is andrea mitchell reports only on msnbc. [ male announcer ] why is kellogg's crunchy nut so delicious? because every flake is double-toasted... splashed with sweet honey... and covered in rich double-roasted peanuts. mmm. [ hero ] yummy. [ male announcer ] kellogg's crunchy nut. it's super delicious! with new lean cuisine salad additions. with grilled chicken edamame pineapple ginger vinaigrette and crispy noodles. just bring your own lettuce. new lean cuisine salad additions. just byol. find us in frozen. i'm here in your home, having a pretty spectacular tuesday.

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when what you just bought, just broke. or when you have a little trouble a long way from home... as an american express cardmember you can expect some help. but what you might not expect, is you can get all this with a prepaid card. spends like cash. feels like membership. . he may be a long shot on the list of papal contenders, you go in ghana, it seems that the whole country is pulling for cardinal peter turkson. stephanie gosk joins me from ghana. fascinating notes from your trip and your reporting, because ghana is one of the only parts of the world where the church is expanding and growing very fast. >> very true, andrea and it's really the whole west coast of africa. considering these numbers, since 2005, the catholic church has

grown more than 20%, right now it's about 150 million people, but it's expected to keep that pace over the next ten years. we witnessed a little of that enthusiasm in cape coast ghana, where cardinal turkson served as the archbishop for almost two decades. we went it a service there and the pews were packed. and the service lasts 45 minutes like it normally does in the u.s. it was two and a half hours long there were people piled out onto the curb, on to plastic chairs to hear what was going on inside. it's that kind of enthusiasm that a lot of catholics believe is lacking in europe. and the united states. and they're seeing it here and that's why cardinal turkson's name is not a huge surprise on the list of possible candidates for pope. many people thinking that choosing a head of the church from this part of the world would be a good way to unite the catholic church. we spoke to one woman outside of that mass in cape coast that day, she said to us, if barack

obama can be president of the united states. why can't cardinal turkson be the pope? andrea? >> and stephanie, it would be so revolutionary there is a north-south divide, if you will. between the old guard and certainly the european dominated cardinals. but it does seem beyond the pale for this to actually happen, this would be a revolution in the church. >> it really would. and to be fair it does seem unlikely choice, although that doesn't curb the enthusiasm for people in this part of the world. one of the things they point out is that this was a religion that was brought by european missionaries, it's been headed by a european head ever since then. there's been a kind of sense among people here that they aren't entirely included in the process. although again, it doesn't curb their enthusiasm for the church. it's also interesting to point out, the role the catholic

church plays in this part of the world. in the former archdiocese, where cardinal turkson serveds a archbishop. 60% to 70% of all the house and education services in that area come from the catholic church. it's all of the religions in the area. it plays an incredibly important role and people here want to be included, figuratively as well with the potential black vote. andrea? >> and in fact, as you point out and as the pictures illustrate that you've provided, the church actually plays a role in health and education and other services that the government is not providing, that many of these governments in these countries are not providing. stephanie, fascinating and we thank you for your reporting today as the cardinals at this moment go through their first balloting. paul ryan, meanwhile, has a message for democrats who don't like his new budget plan. >> show us how to balance the budget. if you don't like our plan, who

you do you propose to balance the budget? >> democratic congresswoman allison schwartz from pennsylvania sits on the budget committee. what is your answer to paul ryan's budget and to him saying, if you don't like to balance it this way, how would you do it? >> well the fact is that we have put forward the way we would move towards balance. we do believe that one of the democrats certainly believes and most of us do, that we have to tackle the deficit. we do need to reduce the deficit. but we need to did it in a responsible way that doesn't shift the burden just away from us and on to middle class families. on to seniors, on to those who can least handle it. so the issue is how do we reduce the deficit, not whether we do and how quickly we do, so we don't actually hurt the economic growth, in the near future and that we don't reduce economic competitiveness for our individuals, families, businesses in what is a globally very competitive market place, having a skilled workforce, a

highly educated workforce, the investments in research and in development in medical science and energy and there's so many different ways. and that we strengthen the middle class, there's just a different way to do it. paul ryan is going to say that he's done it. but the fact is if he hurts the economy, hurts economic growth, we're not going to be able to get there, even under paul ryan's plan to shift so much of the cost to individuals, seniors and their families. >> would your plan get to balance by 2023? >> it does not get to balance in ten years. and it does actually reduce the deficit as a percentage of gdp it brings down health care costs as you know. in the near term and in the future. it does sustain medicare. there are ways that we are looking to do that. but it is a balanced approach to reducing the deficit in a way that doesn't hurt the economy, doesn't increase unemployment. that strengthens the middle

class, that prepares us for the future. and that's something that is very important to my constituents and i think it all americans. the fact is, that americans rejected paul ryan's budget last time and are certainly going to, when they see that this is doing even more, moving more quickly to really put the financial burden on the backs of seniors, and the middle class, it's going to be rejected as well. >> before you let you go, congresswoman, have you made a decision, i know you have an exploratory committee, you've talked about running for governor. have you decided when you're going to announce for governor? >> well andrea, you're from pennsylvania, i know you care about pennsylvania and i think there are a lot of people anxious for me to move forward on the run for governor. but in our conversations certainly this week my focus is going to be on getting the finances right in this country. getting the budget right for my constituents, for pennsylvania and for the country. and it's a big question about our priorities. where we make our investments, who we protect and how we grow this economy.

that's going to be my focus for the next week or so. >> congresswoman, thank you very much. i'm going 0 it take that as a maybe, to be continued. and moments ago, president obama arrived on capitol hill. this is the video as he arrived. on that second floor of the capitol to meet with senate democrats. going into the meeting with them, in their regular caucus and we know that he's going to be meeting with the republicans later in the week. the house and senate republicans. meanwhile, where does the revenue come from? the republican budget? congressman tom cole up next, and we're watching the vatican, we'll bring you any word from the vatican as they continue to deliberate in rome. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc.

paul ryan's budget promises to balance the budget in ten years and produce a surplus by 2023. can it work? do the numbers add up,

republican congressman tom cole sits on the budget committee. the white house immediately said that the math does no the add up. and it seems as though both sides are coming at it from completely different baselines, especially when it comes to obama care. you've gone against your party at times on the whole subject of revenue. do you think this can be done without new revenue? >> it certainly can be done. i think there will be revenue generated by modernizing and streamlining the tax code. but you have to stop the spending, you have to have a goal. which i really appreciate chairman ryan laying out. look we've got a budget that the cbo says can balance, if you did all of these things in ten years, the democrats won't present a budget that will balance in ten years or 20 or 30 or 40 or 50. it's not a serious budget when the president and the senate and our friends in the house produce something that never, ever comes into balance. so you know, i think we've got something that clarifies the differences between the two

parties. and that can work. >> why leave the pentagon almost untouched and turn obama care in a voucher program? >> we haven't left the pentagon untouched. over $500 billion has already been taken out of the pentagon before sequester. so there's been real reductions in american defense spending. in terms of obama care, look, not a single republican voted for it i would be pretty shocked if we ever presented a budget that presumed that it would stay in law. we would like to see it removed. we think we've got better alternatives. so again, those are legitimate points and differences. budgets sort of lay out opening positions and negotiations and discussions. they're not the final document, let's be real. what the president wants won't happen exactly as he would like it to. the same thing is true with the senate democrats and the same thing will be true with our budget. but at least it balances, it makes some tough choices. i think that's what the american

people want to us do right now. >> what happens when the president who is on the hill now, with the senate democrats when he comes up and talks to your caucus tomorrow and walks into the lion's den. what do you want to hear from him and what are you going to tell him? >> just like daniel he'll come out just fine. we're very happy to have the president come. i appreciate the outregion capitol hill, the vote parties and the presidential times-time is a valuable thing, when it's expended, i express my gratitude for that. he's going to make his case. we've shown we can work together, the way we've worked together with him recently on everything from fiscal cliff to violence against women to hurricane sandy. but he's going to have to show can he give some too. i'm very interested in what he has to say about long-term entitlement reform. we all know it's keat to balancing the budget. very interested to see what he'll say in terms of you know, ramping down or tamping down on discretionary spending, let's see what hes had to say.

i think he'll have people that will give him courteous and respectful recession, but people who are very interested if finding a way to work with him working with him to reduce the deficit and get us toward balance. >> congressman tom cole. thank you for being with us today. what political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? that's right here on "andrea mitchell reports." l constipatio. thanks. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. love your passat! um. listen, gary. i bought the last one. nice try. says right here you can get one for $199 a month. you can't believe the lame-stream media, gary. they're all gone. maybe i'll get one. [ male announcer ] now everyone's going to want one. you can't have the same car as me, gary! i'm gettin' one. nope! [ male announcer ] volkswagen springtoberfest is here and there's no better time to get a passat. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease one of four volkswagen models for under $200 a month.

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. we can barely see the smokestack but take my word for it, it is there. we're talking about rome and waiting for the smoke. i don't think if it is white or black we'll be able to determine it. >> someone will see it. >> there at time has been confusion. they did change the chemical mix to try to make the white smoke less gray. >> it sounds like the new detergent. whiter whites. >> as i was discussing earlier

with stephanie in ghana, there are blocs and a lot of lobbying that take place. we don't expect anything to occur during this first balloting as they begin to size up where the power lies. but you do have the europeans and potentially there was talk of the brazilian cardinal that then began to decrease and cardinal ouellet from canada. there was talk about the americans. how extraordinary would it be if it were either cardinal dolan? >> it would be extraordinary. >> and i may be the least qualified person to be about the next pope, two nice jewish girls. but i would guess that if they are going to make a big leap, it would not be a leap to america. it would be a leap to the developing world. and i think that would be the absolutely most interesting thing. i am also thinking about this in the, you mentioned i was a

lawyer in a previous life or at least went to law school. what does a jury do at the start of deliberations? it takes an initial poll to see where everything stands. >> that's what we're told happens. >> i would guess whether we see it or don't see it that we would have something like that relatively soon. just so the cardinals can all see where the balance of interest is. and maybe it will be easier as with a jury that they take initial vote and it comes back 12-0. maybe it will become clearer and take less time. it will be fascinating. >> the fact is they need 77. that is the real challenge there. thank you so much. thanks for being with us. that does it for us for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." tomorrow, madeleine albright. >> thank you. we expect to see the first puff of smoke from the sistine chapel as the first results of the

papal conclave are made public. this as we learn of two factions forming amongst the cardinals. the reformers led by the americans, and a group referred to as the status quo. we'll get a live report out of rome and bring you the latest. plus reaction to congressman paul ryan's budget. first read says does not offer a hint of compromise and does not acknowledge the last election. we'll detail the new budget and questions of whether ryan is even capable of cutting a deal. plus another protest planned for tonight after a 16-year-old new york boy was shot and killed by an undercover nypd detective. police say the teen pointed a gun at them. witnesses are telling a different story. we'll look at what's happening there. it is all coming up next on "news nation." asional have constipation,

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